Activities

An easy go to activity is to reinforce a problem set with a poster. I have students complete 4-6 posters a year. It offers a break from the norm, gives them an avenue to discuss their work, and gives us something to display outside so that visitors to our classroom get an idea of what we're up to. It offers students a point of pride as well, they did something hallway worthy.

The structure is simple. Under normal circumstances maybe you have a 20 question worksheet on a topic. Strip it down to 6-12 of varying difficulty. Write them on a strip of paper. Hand the problems to a group of students (I've done groups as large as 6). Depending on the length, a student may have to present 1 or 2 of the problems on a poster board. Let students do whatever problem they want as long as they do what's required. If you want to do some differentiation, give a more advanced group the same task but with higher level problems.

For best results this should supplement a problem set you've already done or you can have students complete the entirety of a problem set one day and then choose some to present the next day.

Examples of finished product:

Documented Activites

I have written about a number of my Algebra II activities. Some are written with Pre-Cal in mind but they cover Algebra II topics as well.

Undocumented Activities

Transformations - have students complete the Set 1 and Set 2 data tables for the various absolute value functions; plot the data on the grids for the matching function; attempt to summarize the effects on the summary sheet; abstract the rules for the generic "monster" function; have them match equation/description/graph with the card match

Domain/Range - Have students look up their first name on Wolram Alpha; note the popularity; have the class determine its range of popularity

Periodic Functions - Assign students a series of cities from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres; research the cities on Wikipedia and have them find the Climate Section; compare high temperature data for the two hemispheres and plot the results

Quadratic Situations 1 / Quadratic Situations 2 - students take the picture and determine values of the two solutions present in the drawing; students build quadratic equations in factored form from the results, i.e. f(x) = a (x - 5) (x + 3)

Systems of Equations Poster - students find the solution to the given systems using graphing, elimination, or substitution; students should discuss why one method would be preferable over the other; students could be encouraged to try multiple methods to check their solutions

Polynomial Graphs - students analyze the polynomials to determine the degree, behavior, extrema, solutions, and a potential equation for the graph; students represent their findings using a paragraph guide